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of Bill :Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:

1 This Act may be cited as the Gasoline and Diesel Oil Fair Marketing Practices Act.

2 The purpose of this Act is to promote greater fairness in the wholesale prices of gasoline and diesel oil and encourage the participation of independents in the retail gasoline and diesel oil market.

3 In this Act

“branded dealer” means a dealer who has entered into a long-term supply arrangement with a refiner or wholesaler of gasoline or diesel oil;

“Commissioner” means the Provincial Tax Commissioner appointed pursuant to subsection 3(1) of the Revenue Administration Act;

“direct operated outlets” includes those retail outlets owned and operated by a refiner or wholesaler;

“refiner” means any person engaged in the production of gasoline or diesel oil, whether such production or refining occurs in the Province or elsewhere and includes a vertically integrated oil company and its affiliates;

“retailer or dealer” includes any person who is engaged in the business of selling gasoline or diesel oil to the general public for ultimate consumption;

“unbranded dealer” includes any retailer or dealer who has not entered a long-term supply arrangement with a vertically integrated oil company;

“wholesale or rack price” means the price at which gasoline or diesel oil is made available to a retailer or dealer;

“wholesaler” includes any person determined to be a wholesaler by the Commissioner, and includes any person who buys gasoline and diesel oil directly from a refiner.

4 A refiner or wholesaler shall file with the Commissioner the branded and unbranded wholesale or rack prices of gasoline and diesel oil and post those prices in the manner prescribed by regulation.

5 A refiner or wholesaler shall post wholesale or rack prices pursuant to section 4 which both include and exclude freight.

6 No refiner shall enter into an agreement with a branded dealer where the unbranded wholesale or rack price is greater than the branded wholesale or rack price.

7 The retail price at a refiner’s or wholesaler’s direct operated outlet shall at no time be less than the wholesale or rack price the refiner or wholesaler charges to any other wholesaler.

8 No refiner shall restrict the supply point at which a dealer or wholesaler is able to obtain gasoline or diesel oil.

9 No refiner shall set a retail price for gasoline or diesel oil other than at its direct operated outlets.

10 No refiner shall sell at retail at a price below its highest wholesale or rack price.

11 The powers of the Commissioner under section 3 of the Revenue Administration Act apply mutatis mutandis to this Act.

12(1) Any person may commence an action or seek injunctive relief against a person who violates this Act, and upon a prima facie showing of a violation, the burden of rebutting the prima facie case shall shift to the defendant.

12(2) A prima facie showing of a violation shall exist where the plaintiff shows

(a) that the plaintiff’s purchase price from a refiner or wholesaler is greater than the refiner’s posted wholesale price;

(b) that the plaintiff’s purchase price from a refiner or wholesaler plus the cost of doing business is greater than the refiner’s or wholesaler’s retail sales price; or

(c) that the plaintiff’s wholesale cost of gasoline and diesel oil plus the plaintiff’s cost of doing business is greater than the posted sales price at a retail location of a competitor.

13 A person who contravenes this Act is guilty of an offence and is liable to

(a) in the case of a corporation, a penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars; or

(b) in the case of a person who is not a corporation, a penalty of not more than one thousand dollars and, in default of payment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.

14 The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) prescribing the posting of branded and unbranded wholesale or rack prices for gasoline or diesel oil;

(b) excluding any person from the application of this Act;

(c) defining any word or expression used but not defined in this Act;

(d) respecting any matter deemed necessary or advisable to carry out effectively the intent and purpose of this Act.

15 This Act or any provision of it comes into force on a day or days to be fixed by proclamation.